Georgia Senate Bill 57 Proposes Sixty Day Notice Requirement to Evict Tenants after Foreclosure

A new Georgia Senate Bill 57 would prolong the length of time a tenant would have to be evicted if a house is foreclosed. This wouldn't effect most landlords, assuming the legislature doesn't try to apply this (now, or later) to other types of evictions, such as evictions for non-payment of rent.

For more information, or to discuss your specific questions about Georgia Dispossessories or evictions, call The Law Office of Trey Phillips, LLC toll free at 1-888-500-EVICT and visit our website at www.GeorgiaEvictionAttorney.com. We don't just file the paperwork and go to court, we actually contract the labor to remove the tenant's possessions, and coordinate changing the locks, so that once you call us all that's left for you to do is relax.

Here's a link to the original ajc article http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/01/27/foreclose_senate_bill.html, the full text is below.

ajc.com > Metro
Foreclosure crisis spurs bill to help tenants
By D.L. BENNETT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Conceding that Georgia’s foreclosure crisis may be beyond the power of the General Assembly to fix, a bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed a series of reforms Tuesday.

Senate Bill 57 would help protect tenants, give local governments more ability to combat the ills of abandoned foreclosed home and require brokers who sell subprime loans to be more forthcoming about the terms of such deals.

“This will help out around the edges,” said Sen. Bill Hamrick (R-Carrollton), the chief sponsor. “There’s no bill that can solve this problem, obviously.”

The proposal is the product of a series of meetings Hamrick has had around the state as the crisis has grown since the end of the 2008 session. He expects a hearing in his committee next week.

The proposal hits issues pushed by local governments and housing advocates.

Young Hughley Jr., CEO of Reynoldstown Revitalization Corp., a nonprofit community group, said much needs to be done to protect and restore communities hit by the wave of foreclosures. He welcomed the effort.

This seems like it’s dealing with some of the factors that got us into this situation,” Hughley said.

Under the bill, mortgage companies foreclosing on homes would have to quickly file deeds or face penalties. Many local governments complain lenders fail to file deeds for months, leaving vacant, dilapidated houses with no one for governments to hold accountable.

His bill also gives tenants who are paying on time 60 days before they can be evicted, if the landlord is foreclosed on. Local officials and housing advocates say tenants are routinely booted through no fault of their own.

At the same time, those who say they are helping rescue someone from foreclosure only to scam them out of a deed would be blocked from such tactics. And, the bill sets up a series of requirements and disclosures for those who sell subprime loans.

Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) called the bill a “good-faith, bipartisan effort” to address the foreclosure crisis. She said a good beginning was last year’s passage of a bill requiring more clarity on who holds a mortgage so homeowners can quickly try to work out a deal if they get behind.

“It’s time to get away from blaming homeowners,” she said.